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1 – 6 of 6Andra Gumbus, Christopher C. York and Carolyn A. Shea
Judy was a high-performing professional manager who was with her company for 15 years and was a manager for six. She was a confident, positive, and happy person but recently lost…
Abstract
Judy was a high-performing professional manager who was with her company for 15 years and was a manager for six. She was a confident, positive, and happy person but recently lost her confidence in herself and her abilities. She dreaded going to work because she never knew what she would face from her boss, Dennis. Dennis was a brilliant man who was recently promoted to Senior V.P. He was condescending, and he humiliated people in public. Complaints to the CEO and a harassment claim produced no results. Dennis did the CEO's dirty work and served a role needed in a fast-paced and profit-driven corporate culture. Judy enrolled in an MBA program to build her resume and her self-confidence. She faced a critical juncture in her career. Should she quit, transfer, complain to HR, or confront Dennis?
Andra Gumbus and Frances Grodzinsky
Women as individuals experience subtle discrimination regarding career development opportunities as evidenced by research on the Glass Ceiling. This paper looks at the…
Abstract
Women as individuals experience subtle discrimination regarding career development opportunities as evidenced by research on the Glass Ceiling. This paper looks at the ramifications of technology, specifically the Internet, and how it affects women’s career opportunities.
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To analyze the current position of consumer goods giant Unilever, following a five‐year restructuring and the appointment of a new chairman, noting that its margins are being…
Abstract
Purpose
To analyze the current position of consumer goods giant Unilever, following a five‐year restructuring and the appointment of a new chairman, noting that its margins are being eroded by the pricing policy of UK and European supermarkets.
Design/methodology/approach
This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context.
Findings
It's not mess, it's just curiosity – that, accompanied by a charming picture of a child painting and managing to get as much paint on herself as on the paper, is the slogan of a UK advertising campaign to promote Persil washing powder. Giving painting kits to schoolchildren, with the message “Create masterpieces with Persil”, was part of the same campaign.
Originality/value
The “balanced scorecard” method of communicating the company's strategy to all employees can be introduced into other organizations.
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Stephen Lilley, Frances S. Grodzinsky and Andra Gumbus
Facebook users are both producers and consumers (i.e. “prosumers”), in the sense that they produce the disclosures that allow for Facebook's business success and they consume…
Abstract
Purpose
Facebook users are both producers and consumers (i.e. “prosumers”), in the sense that they produce the disclosures that allow for Facebook's business success and they consume services. The purpose of this paper is to examine how best to characterize the commercialized and compliant members. The authors question the Facebook assertion that members knowingly and willingly approve of personal and commercial transparency and argue, instead, that complicity is engineered.
Design/methodology/approach
A survey of Facebook users was conducted between December 2010 and April 2011 at one private and four public universities. Respondents were questioned about: the level of their consumer activity on Facebook; their knowledge of Facebook advertiser data sharing practices and their attitude toward such; their use of sharing restrictions and the groups targeted; and their assessment of transparency benefits versus reputation and consumer risks.
Findings
No evidence was found to support the Facebook account of happy prosumers. Members reported that they avoided advertisements as much as possible and opposed data sharing/selling practices. However, many respondents were found to be relatively uneducated and passive prosumers, and those expressing a high concern for privacy were no exception.
Research limitations/implications
Due to the nonprobability sampling method, the results may lack generalizability.
Practical implications
To avoid unwanted commercialization, users of social networking sites must become more aware of data mining and privacy protocols, demand more protections, or switch to more prosumer‐friendly platforms.
Originality/value
The paper reports empirical findings on Facebook members' prosumption patterns and attitudes.
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Frances Grodzinsky, Andra Gumbus and Stephen Lilley
There are two claims made by the web marketing/advertising industry. By collecting, managing, and mining data, companies serve consumer's best interests, and by adopting…
Abstract
Purpose
There are two claims made by the web marketing/advertising industry. By collecting, managing, and mining data, companies serve consumer's best interests, and by adopting sophisticated analytics, web marketers avoid discriminations that disserve individuals. Although the paper shares an interest in ending social discrimination, the paper is more circumspect about pronounced individualism and technological fixes. Despite its appeal, or perhaps because of it, the paper should not accept the claim at face value. The paper argues that social discrimination may not disappear under smarter marketing; more overt forms may wane only to be replaced by more subtle forms. The paper aims to discuss these issues.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper compares the two most important techniques of “smarter” marketing – predictive analytics and Facebook's social graph – with current discriminatory practices of weblining and e-scoring. While noting advances against overt discrimination, the paper describes how smarter marketing allows for covert forms.
Findings
Innovative strategies to record and mine users' tastes and social connectivity for marketing purposes open the way for covert social discrimination.
Originality/value
The paper provides a critical assessment of two claims made by the web marketing/advertising industry: by monitoring consumer web activity and collecting, managing, and mining data, companies serve consumer's best interests, and by adopting sophisticated analytics, web marketers avoid discriminations that disserve individuals.
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